


Catch Me (When I Fall)

by digthewriter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, First Date, Fluff, Happy Ending, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, M/M, Meet-Cute, Pre-Slash, Romance, bookshop setting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 12:18:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15751524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digthewriter/pseuds/digthewriter
Summary: Neville falls off a ladder.





	Catch Me (When I Fall)

Neville wasn't that high up on the ladder but he knew if he fell, it'd hurt. So he was careful to reach over to the next shelf to seek out the book he needed. 

"E… F… G…" and he reached over and lost his footing. "Oh shi—" was all he'd said and he _didn't_ hit the floor. 

Someone had caught him. 

"Oh, hello…" The man looked down at Neville, who was safely caught in his arms, and smiled. 

"Uh…" was all Neville managed to say before, "I'm alright. I'm alright." 

"Are you sure. You looked like you were really planning on hitting the floor." 

"I'm fine. Thank you. You can put me down now." 

The man smiled once again, and Neville nearly forgot his name. He lowered his arms and Neville all but hopped out of his arms and tried to stand up. Except, he didn't. He tripped over the books on the floor, and then he was back in the man's arms, this time, chest-to-chest with him while he'd snaked his arms around Neville's waist. 

"I'm usually not this clumsy," he said. 

"I find that hard to believe, dear Nev." 

Neville's eyes widened at the familiar nickname. It was what the Weasleys called him sometimes. "Oh…" Realisation dawned on him. "Charlie," he said, straightening up. _Yes, Neville. Great job. Make a fool in front of the one you don't think of like a brother._

"Ah! Wasn't sure if you'd actually recognised me." 

"Well, I didn't hit my head," replied Neville, "Thanks to you." 

"What were you looking for anyway?" Charlie asked, looking up to the seventh shelf from where Neville had taken his not-so-graceful exit. 

" _Green Magick, Herbalism & Spirituality_," replied Neville. 

"Just a bit of light reading?" 

Neville shook his head. "It's for a research paper I'm appraising. And you? I didn't know you were in town, let alone, at a rare bookshop on this side of wizarding London. Not that I know when you're in town— I mean, I don't keep tabs on your or anythin— I mean, I don't ask your siblings about—" _Yes, I'll just shut up now, thank you._

Charlie laughed. "I'm here for the… _surprise birthday party_..." he said in a hushed tone.

"Right. Of course. I'm such an idiot—" 

"No you're not. You're in character," he said with a grin. "I'm here looking for a book to gift my sister on her twenty-fifth birthday but you didn't see me. Okay?" 

"Very well," Neville said, taking a step to the side. "As you were." 

"But since you are here…" Charlie drawled. "Maybe you can help me. You do know Ginny so well and I consider myself lucky to have run into you. I can't really ask anyone else. I mean, I reckon there's Hermione but—you two are friends, right?" 

Neville cleared his throat. All of a sudden his palms were sweaty, and his tie was too tight. "Right. Just friends. We're not — nothing more than — we're friends." 

"Great," Charlie said with an eyebrow raised. "So any recommendations?" 

"Sure," Neville said, looking around. "But I don't think you'll find anything for her in the magical herbs and grains section. Why don't we take a detour towards the—"

" _Sports_ section?" Charlie asked. 

"Merlin no. The last thing Ginny needs is someone else putting her in a box and thinking she only cares about sports. She loves it, of course, but it's also her job. She needs something to help her unwind. Maybe even forget about work for a while. And if you gave her a book on sports, she'll toss it right now. The only thing she reads is the score stats, anyway." 

"Sounds like you're the expert…" Charlie said and following Neville around the maze of the bookshelves. 

They started in the Muggles New Age section but Neville couldn't find a book Ginny didn't own. She was extremely into Muggle Astrology and tended to over-evaluate all her friends and teammates based on their date, day, year of birth, and the planets which were aligned. Besides, as Neville talked about it, Charlie looked less and less disinterested. He had a feeling Charlie was looking for something he'd want to be interested in too before he'd gift it to his only sister. 

"What about Origami?" Neville asked. 

Charlie's face lit up. "That's a brilliant idea. Ginny loves challenges and she's not like Ron that she'd destroy the piece of paper if she couldn't get it to fold her way—" 

"Right. I was looking at this book with her last time but I don't think she'd purchased it for herself yet. _Express The Essence_ …" Neville said, picking up the book. "It's a book written by the oldest wizard from Japan living in London. The papers are charmed so it feels your frustration while you're working with it and the more you relax, the better the flow feels…" he added, looking at Charlie and smiling. "It's brilliant, really. If I had more time on my hands, I'd want to do this as a hobby, as well, but my job keeps me quite busy." 

"Appraising research papers, and all…" Charlie said. 

"Not just that. But also making lesson plans with Pomona, writing my own thesis for my book, and—" Neville abruptly stopped. "Sorry, didn't mean to go on. I don't…I don't talk much to strangers." Charlie had been giving him a look Neville knew all too well. He was rambling and the man only felt sorry for him. That pity look of, _Oh, poor boy. You don't get out much, do you?_

"That's fine," Charlie said, the smile had yet to leave his face. He squeezed Neville's shoulder. "In the last half an hour you haven't said much about yourself. You seem to know a lot about everything, especially what Ginny likes. I can tell you are a good friend to her and obviously are there to listen to her. But who listens to you?" 

Neville shrugged. "I don't have much to say. Just my research and I doubt—"

"I'm sure true friends would make the time to listen to what you have to say," Charlie said, grabbing the origami book from Neville's hand. 

"Yeah, maybe…" Neville replied looking down as the back of his hand brushed Charlie's. "I'm not much of a talker." 

"I'll believe that…" Charlie said, turning around. "Now, let's go and get your Herbs Spirituality book." 

They went back to the Herbology section and Charlie asked one of the shopboys to fetch Neville's book. When they made their way to the till, Charlie insisted on buying Neville's book for him. 

"You don't have to—" 

"Nonsense. You spent time out of your day for me and I have to repay you, don't I?" 

"Well, you already did by making sure I didn't break my leg," Neville joked. "But I suppose that would've been better than being such damsel—" 

"I've caught plenty of people mid-air as they fall off a flying dragon, so it wasn't a big deal." 

"It was to me," Neville said when Charlie's back was to him. He seemed to be writing something and Neville reckoned it was a greeting for Ginny on her birthday. 

"Look at that…" Charlie sounded amused. "Neville Longbottom, slayer of snakes, blushes." 

"Oh Merlin," Neville said rolling his eyes and walking out of the bookshop. 

"Hey, wait!" Charlie said, running after him. "What about your book?" Eventually, he caught up with Neville and handed him the book he'd purchased for Neville. "I may live in Romania but I do keep up with the news, and the _Prophet_ has a tendency to announce all the famous wizarding heroes' birthdays." 

"So?" Neville asked, confused. And then his eyes widened. "This is for my bir—" 

"Yes. You were listed there, a day before Harry's, and I'd taken notice. The last time I saw you was at Ron and Hermione's wedding—and then you're just so busy lesson planning, theorising and appraising—" He smiled and ran a hand through his hair. "I took a chance at this shop and then there you were. Fell right into me." 

"I don't—I don't understand," said Neville. 

"The _Prophet_ listed this place as one of your favourite hangouts so I thought I'd take a chance. Maybe I'd see you, or maybe I'd find a present—" 

"You came to the shop for _me_?" 

Charlie smiled. "Yes. I'm kind of trying to ask your out on a date, Nev." His ears turned red and he big his lower lip. 

" _Oh_." 

"And the book? I mean—Ginny's book—?" 

"Did you buy Ginny a present yet?" Charlie asked and Neville shook his head. "Well then this can be from the both of us."

"And about the other thing? The asking me out on a date part?" Neville wanted to make sure he'd heard Charlie correctly. 

"Do you want to be my date for Ginny's surprise birthday party?"

"And what would that entail, exactly? I mean, I could show up to the party and how would I know it's a date?" Neville asked with a lowered voice as he looked around. There were wizards all around them and he didn't wish to be overheard. The _Prophet_ loved publishing every little thing about him and his friends from the war — the last thing he needed was another headline in the Gossip column. 

Charlie took a step closer to Neville, obviously sensing his need for privacy, and yet, making a spectacle of things at the same time. "We could meet beforehand, get a quick bite to eat, and show up to the party together. Maybe even _leave_ together?" 

"But you live there…" Neville said. 

"Yes. But you don't." At Charlie's statement, Neville's eyes widened. "I could walk you home or we could go out…" 

"Are you sure you didn't spell me to fall off the ladder just so you could catch me?" Neville asked, teasing. He often resorted to light humour whenever things got a bit too much for him. Charlie Weasley, the man from his wet dreams, was asking him out. This was the mere definition of _too much_ for Neville. 

"I considered it," replied Charlie with a grin. "But mostly I just watched you and waited for you to come down. And then before I knew it—there you were." 

"Okay. When do we start this date?" 

Charlie smirked. "We can start right now. If you're not busy, I have some errands to run, and then we can head over to The Unexceptional Coffee for some sandwiches and cider." 

Neville nodded. "Very well." They walked together until they reached a jewelry shop. Charlie had placed an order for a gold bracelet for Ginny which he picked and got it gift wrapped. He also got the origami book wrapped from the same place, but instead of signing his name on the card, he had Neville sign it. 

"You already had a present for Ginny?" 

Charlie shrugged. "I needed a back up plan in case you weren't at the bookshop." 

Neville raised an eyebrow. "Why does this feel like a trap set by Malfoy?" 

Charlie threw his head back and laughed. Then he wrapped his arm around Neville's shoulder and they walked out together. "Guilty as charged."


End file.
